Joseph Clinton Devillis (aka De Villis) (1878–1912) was an African American artist from Brooklyn, New York who primarily painted landscapes and seascapes.
Devillis enlisted in the United States Navy in 1894 (with pad and pencils in hand). Upon visiting Europe he used his shore leave to study the masterpieces in the Louvre, Luxembourg and the galleries of London.Thompson, WO., "Collins and Devillis - Two Promising Painters", (1905) Voice of the Negro 2 An Apprentice First Class on Dewey's USS Olympia, in 1898 he was a signal man at the Battle of Manila Bay.Galt, W ., The Battle of Manila Bay, May First, Eighteen Hundred & Nintety-Eight – An Epic Poem. (1904) Norfolk, VA.
In 1901 he left the Navy and returned to New York where he was one of few African American Art students in New York at the time.Guzman, J P., Negro Year Book: a Review of Events Affecting Negro Life, 1941-1946. 1947, Tukegee Institute. He studied at the Adelphi College between 1907 and 1912, joining the Adelphi Sketch Club.
Devillis was also an active member of the Nazarene Congregational Church in Brooklyn where he was a Deacon and the Treasurer. He died of pneumonia in 1912 at the age of 33.Goodman, MH., "Joseph Clinton De Villis: Seaman, Artist, Churchman", (1978) Negro History Bulletin 41 His work was posthumously displayed at the New York Public Library in 1921 and formed part of the A.A. Schomburg Collection there.Cederhom, T D., Afro-American Artists; a Bio-Bibliographical Directory. 1973, Trustees of the Boston Public Library, Boston
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